To mark 50 years since the death of composer Benjamin Britten, the Music Department and Careers joined forces to welcome Dr Lucy Walker from Britten Pears Arts to deliver a Year 13 Enrichment talk exploring the life and music of one of Gresham’s most distinguished former pupils.

Britten’s musical talent was clear from an early age. Before he turned 18, he had completed around 400 works, including concertos, string quartets, choral pieces and songs. At Gresham’s, in Farfield, he continued to develop as a composer.

Dr Walker traced Britten’s path from his childhood in Lowestoft to his lessons with composer Frank Bridge, whom Britten called his “musical father”. The talk also explored his collaborations with the poet W. H. Auden, his lifelong partnership with tenor Peter Pears, and the operas and festivals that connected his music with audiences in Britain and beyond.

Britten’s work often faced the difficult questions of its time. His War Requiem, written in the shadow of conflict, reflects what he called “my subject … war, and the pity of war”. His music continues to reach new audiences, too, through film and television, including Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom and the BBC’s 2026 adaptation of Lord of the Flies.

The talk invited pupils to listen afresh and consider what makes Britten’s music endure. For Year 13, it was a chance to encounter the work of an Old Greshamian whose influence can still be heard today.